7.  The applicant was born in 1933 and lives in Bratislava.
8.  On 5 January 1994 the applicant lodged an action for damages relating to the defendant's failure to comply with a lease contract. On 25 January 1994 he paid the court fees. On 21 March 1994 the defendant co-operative submitted its memorial to which the applicant replied on 9 May 1994.
9.  On 21 October 1996 the applicant complained to the president of the Bratislava City Court that there was no progress in his case.
10.  On 31 October 1996 the Bratislava City Court informed the applicant that it had transferred the case to the Bratislava II District Court. The latter received the file on 5 November 1996. As the Bratislava II District Court considered that it lacked jurisdiction to deal with the case, it requested the Supreme Court to determine the issue. On 24 February 1997 the Supreme Court found that the case fell within the jurisdiction of the Bratislava Regional Court which had taken over the case files of the former Bratislava City Court. The Regional Court received the Supreme Court's decision on 2 May 1997.
11.  On 4 March 1998 the Bratislava Regional Court held a hearing and decided to adjourn the case. On 18 March 1998 the applicant submitted further information. Between 8 and 27 October 1998 the file was submitted to the Ministry of Justice.
12.  A further hearing before the Bratislava Regional Court was held on 22 February 1999. On 28 May 1999 the Regional Court heard two witnesses. Another hearing before the Bratislava Regional Court scheduled for 24 August 1999 had to be cancelled as a witness failed to appear. The Regional Court therefore requested the Poprad District Court to hear the witness.
13.  On 15 March 2001 the Bratislava Regional Court ordered the defendant to pay 3,400 Slovakian korunas (SKK) to the applicant and rejected the remainder of the latter' action. On 12 April 2001 the applicant appealed.
14.  By two decisions dated 2 July 2001 the Bratislava Regional Court dismissed the applicant' request for waiver of fees of the appellate proceedings and instructed the applicant to pay those fees. On 31 August 2001 the Supreme Court upheld the Regional Court's decision to dismiss the applicant's request for waiver of court fees. On 9 October 2001 the applicant filed an appeal on points of law against the Supreme Court's decision of 31 August 2001.
15.  On 18 January 2004 the applicant informed the Court that the proceedings concerning his action were still pending.
16.  On 16 June 1998 the Constitutional Court found that the applicant's constitutional right to a hearing without undue delays had been violated in the above proceedings concerning his claim for damages. The Constitutional Court noted, in particular, that the Bratislava City Court had taken more than two years to transfer the case, for reasons of jurisdiction, to the Bratislava II District Court and that the Bratislava Regional Court had remained inactive for ten months after it had received the Supreme Court's decision of 24 February 1997.
17.  On 13 March 2002 the applicant filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court alleging a violation of his constitutional rights to a hearing without undue delays and to compensation for damage. On 2 May 2002 the Constitutional Court declared admissible the complaint concerning the alleged delays in the proceedings brought on 5 January 1994. In its decision the Constitutional Court noted that the relevant part of the complaint followed its finding of 16 June 1998. It further rejected the remainder of the applicant's complaint noting, in particular, that it lacked jurisdiction to decide on claims for damages relating to unlawful decisions of public authorities or their erroneous official conduct.
18.  In its finding of 12 November 2003 the Constitutional Court concluded that the Bratislava Regional Court had violated the applicant's constitutional right to a hearing without unjustified delay in proceedings concerning the applicant's above claim for damages. The Constitutional Court examined the period after the delivery of its finding of 16 June 1998 and held, in particular, that the Regional Court had remained inactive for two years between September 2001 and November 2003. The Constitutional Court ordered the Bratislava Regional Court to proceed with the case without further delay. Finally, the Constitutional Court granted SKK 20,000[1] to the applicant as just satisfaction. The decision states that it had thereby regard to the overall length of the proceedings before the Regional Court and to the particular circumstances of the case.
19.  Since at the relevant time the Constitutional Court lacked jurisdiction to order that the applicant be compensated for the violation of his right to a hearing without undue delay which it had found on 16 June 1998, he claimed compensation for delays in the proceedings under the State Liability Act of 1969 with reference to the Constitutional Court's finding on 16 June 1998. On 17 November 1998 the Ministry of Justice dismissed the request and informed the applicant that he could seek redress before a court.
20.  The applicant filed an action against the Ministry of Justice claiming (i) protection of his personal rights under Article 11 et seq. of the Civil Code and (ii) compensation for non-pecuniary damage under the State Liability Act of 1969. He referred to the Constitutional Court's finding of 16 June 1998.
21.  On 26 May 1999 the Bratislava I District Court dismissed the applicant's action. It found that the defendant Ministry had not interfered with the applicant's personal rights when determining his claim for compensation. As to the claim for non-pecuniary damages under the State Liability Act of 1969, the court held that the damages claimed corresponded to lost income and related to the subject matter of the compensation proceedings which the applicant had brought on 5 January 1994 and which were still pending. The applicant had therefore to claim compensation from persons who were liable for such damage.
22.  The applicant appealed and claimed that the above Constitutional Court's finding was a valid ground for compensating him for delays in the proceedings brought on 5 January 1994.
23.  On 16 November 1999 the Bratislava Regional Court upheld the District Court's judgment of 26 May 1999. The appellate court found that the applicant had not shown that, as a result of the courts' dealing with his case, he had suffered material damage which could be expressed in terms of money and which could be redressed by means of the payment of a sum of money to him. As regards the applicant's argument that he had suffered damage of a non-pecuniary nature as a result of delays in the proceedings in question the Regional Court held:
“Cases in which the State is liable for damage caused by unlawful decisions delivered by a court in the context of judicial proceedings are specified in Act No. 58/1969 on liability for damage caused by the decision of a State authority or by its erroneous official conduct, and the present case does not fall within one of the classes of case in which compensation can be granted.”